1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fluid flow stripping and plating system and, more particularly, to such a system in which an electrode is disposed adjacent to a circuit board to be plated and/or stripped for passing current through a fluid flowing evenly over the portion of the circuit board involved.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to produce circuit boards, it is necessary to be able to strip, or etch away, solder from the portions of the circuit pattern comprising the terminal contact pads of a circuit board. The terminal pads are ordinarily inserted into a terminal board connector comprising part of an electronic system. After the solder is etched away from the terminal pad portion, it is necessary then to gold plate over the copper exposed during the etching process. Gold adheres better to the copper than to solder.
In the past, the boards have been masked and dipped into an acid solution for removing the solder and, subsequently, gold-plated according to known techniques. In another method, a carbon electrode wrapped in a cloth has been dipped in an acid etchant and brushed across the portion of the board to be stripped. Both processes are relatively inefficient and consume considerable periods of time. The tool and workpiece must be moved relative to each other.
A system is desired in which the solder can be etched away from the terminal contact pads of the circuit board at a relatively fast and efficient rate. It would also be preferred if the system could be used to plate gold on the etched copper contact pads. The system described herein provides an efficient fluid flow stripping and plating system which is an improvement over the processes described above.